Company overview

Markit was founded in 2001 as the first independent source of credit derivative pricing and has recently been announced as the fastest growing private company in the UK. Today, our data, valuations and trade processing services are regarded as the market standard in the global financial markets, helping our clients to reduce risk, improve operational efficiency and meet regulatory requirements.

With over 1,300 institutions using our independent services as clients - including investment banks, hedge funds, asset managers, central banks, regulators, rating agencies and insurance companies - we provide round-the-clock support from our offices in London, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Toronto, Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Tokyo, Singapore and Sydney.

Department

Structured Finance, Markit (NYC)

Markit’s Structured Finance Group provides an integrated set of pre- and post trade solutions across pricing, performance data, cashflow modelling, indices and trade analytics.

Markit’s services are used by key financial institutions to help them monitor risk, mark-to-market and develop accurate forecasting models.

The group has a global focus and teams are based both in New York and London.

An opportunity exists for a Structured Finance expert to join Markit Group to play a leadership role in the development of a rigorous analytical process around US Agency CMO Evaluated Bond Pricing. Candidates with prior work experience in Agency CMO Trading/Syndication, Research, Portfolio Management, Risk Management/Product Control, or Advisory/Third-party valuations experience are encouraged to apply.

• Responsible for developing Markit’s Agency CMO pricing methodology, and building a process with sufficient scale to price essentially the entire US Agency CMO universe
• Must have significant experience with assessing relative value for Agency CMO tranches by analyzing collateral market trends, bond structure, prepayments, variability in bond cashflows, OAS model results, and comparisons with other markets (eg., Agency Passthroughs and Non-Agency CMOs)
• Maintains external relationships with Agency CMO dealers and buyside clients, as well as third parties who support the product and can provide input for further development and market color.

• Responsible and accountable for ensuring budget is met or exceeded.
• Responsible in part for sourcing pricing inputs and signing off that the production process is meeting defined product deliverables.
• Must be able to work within Structured Finance and the broader organization to effectuate change and identify cross-selling or synergistic opportunities.
• Responsible for receiving and processing external feedback and for communicating product direction and enhancement externally.
• Must have broad knowledge of Markit’s offerings and be able to speak effectively on them externally.

Education and experience

Degree in Finance, Math, Engineering, Economics, or Business preferred. CFA and/or MBA a plus but not required.   At least 4-5+ years experience in a trading, buyside, research, or risk management role at a financial institution dealing with Agency CMOs

Commercial awareness

High degree of commercial awareness. Needs to be motivated by commercial impact

Detail oriented enough to build high quality, superior products, but commercial enough to be focused on the building the business and satisfying clients

Management requirements

Must possess strong leadership skills

Must be a self starter

Must have  proven track-record of working with people, including people that are not functionally tied to him/her

Personal impact

Ability to work and function in high pressured situations

Ability to digest market information and articulate to all levels in a structured and understandable way

Communication

Candidate must demonstrate strong speaking and writing skills, and will be called upon to deal with client price challenges in a non-confrontational manner, clearly articulating our methodology and response to inquiries about pricing levels

Teamwork

Ability to motivate teams and team members